My Care Bridge, online Portal is now live.

Irvana Davies • September 14, 2024

'My Care Bridge', an online portal for new referrals for children and young people's autism and ADHD services in mid and South Essex, is now live.

SSIF are excited to announce that the 'My Care Bridge' portal is now live. For the past 18 months together with Parent Carer Forums from Essex and Thurrock and led by the MSE (Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust) we have been involved in the development of the portal and are hopeful that it will streamline the referral process for families.  The portal will advise families on next steps and will also provide options for support available locally, it will also be up-to-date with information shared and what is outstanding.   The portal is a test and learn initially and we hope that in the future it can be expanded further.


Please see below for the communications from MSE regarding the Portal:-


"The portal is easy to use and secure and has been developed in collaboration with healthcare and education professionals, and families. 

 

Educational settings (including nurseries, schools, and colleges), GPs, health visitors, and other health professionals can use the portal to make referrals.

 

Parents and carers will be sent a login when a referral has been made and you will be able to log in to the portal to provide information for your child’s referral, track the referral and access a library of support available locally.

 

The portal is for children and young people who are aged up to 18 years old and registered with a GP in mid and south Essex. This includes Chelmsford, Braintree, Maldon, Castle Point, Rochford, Southend, Basildon, Brentwood and Thurrock.

 

The portal is for new referrals only – current referrals will continue to follow existing administrative pathways.

 

At present, we cannot accept referrals made by parents, carers, family members or young people themselves. If you feel your child/young person requires an Autism or ADHD assessment, we encourage discussion with their education setting or GP about making a referral through My Care Bridge.

 

You will be emailed with access information when your referral is made by a GP, health visitor, or educational setting.

 

The portal been developed by the Mid and South Essex Community Collaborative, a partnership between Essex Partnership University Trust, North East London Foundation Trust and Provide Community. If you are having issues accessing the portal, please contact the service:

 

NELFT (Basildon, Brentwood and Thurrock): childrensautismADHDassessment@nelft.nhs.uk 
Provide Community (Chelmsford, Braintree and Maldon): provide.cccpaediatrics@nhs.net 
EPUT (Castle Point & Rochford and Southend): epunft.Lighthouse.ASD@nhs.net or epunft.Lighthouse.ADHD@nhs.net 

 

Find out more information here"

Southend SEND Information Day

November 6, 2025
On 6 November, Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) and the SEND Local Offer Team co-hosted the first Southend SEND Information Day . The event was attended by over 150 parent carers and professionals, with more than 50 teams and services sharing information about the support they provide. Attendees also had the opportunity to take part in three presentations covering Social Care, Health, and Education. SSIF and the Local Offer Team would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who attended, and to the many teams, organisations, services, and colleagues who gave their time, shared their knowledge, and helped make the day such a success. Your support and collaboration on the day were greatly appreciated. If you attended the event, we’d love to hear your thoughts — your feedback is invaluable in helping us shape and improve future events. Share your feedback here . Further details about the event, including information about the teams and services that attended is available on the Local Offer website . The presentation slides from the information sessions are available to view below. Thank you once again to everyone who supported or attended the Southend SEND Information Day. Please use the buttons below to access the PowerPoint presentations from the day .

Southend SEND Information Day - 6th November 2025

October 8, 2025
🌟Southend SEND Information Day 🌟 Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF), and the Southend SEND Local Offer Team are delighted to invite parent carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), as well as professionals to our SEND Information Day. 📅 6 November 2025 🕘 9:00am to 3:00pm (drop in anytime) 📍 Southend Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, SS2 6ER. Come and meet a wide range of local services and organisations who support SEND families across Southend-on-Sea at our SEND Marketplace. You'll be able to speak with teams including The Specialist Teaching Service, Educational Psychology Service, Early Years Team, and many more. There will also be talks on key topics: ▪ 10am to 11am: Transitions from the Children with Disabilities Team to adult social care ▪ 11.30am to 12.30pm: Health information session; Decision making; young people with additional needs ▪ 1pm to 2pm: Collaboration Counts: Supporting your young person with SEND in education No booking needed, just drop-in at a time that suits you. Free tea, coffee and water will be available. Food can be bought from the Civic Centre cafe, or people are welcome to bring their own. Civic Centre parking is limited, so attendees are advised to use public transport or town centre car parks. Please note, the event is for adults and there will not be a creche provision or activities for children. The marketplace is open to all, but we kindly ask that babies and young children are not brought into the information sessions. Please contact the Local Offer Team at localoffer@southend.gov.uk with any questions. We look forward to welcoming you! Visit the Livewell site for more information.

Children's Learning Disability Service (CLDS) feedback opportunity.

September 22, 2025
The Children's Learning Disability Service (CLDS) is due to be recommissioned in 2027.
An advertisement for a coffee and chat event

SSIF Coffee Mornings

September 5, 2025
One of our favourite Events is our regular monthly coffee morning, where Parent Carers can get together to share their experiences. Every month we have the Local Offer team with us and invite 1 or 2 additional special guests from for example Health, Social Care, Education and more, to offer guidance and advice. There is also a sensory play creche available for your little ones aged 0-5 with Chaos & Calm. Come along and chat to other ParentCarers, get advice from one of our SEND support service guests and enjoy a hot drink with something sweet. Booking is not required.